Freight-car door.



' J L. GUERRANT.

FREIGHTCAR DOOR. 7 APPLICATION FILED APR. 25; 1946.

1 fifiQfiYQ. Patented Mar 26, 1918.

2 SHEETS SHEET Witnesses lnventog Attorneys Patented Mar. 26

,1918. SHEET 2.

2 SHEETS- Attorneys,

' line 22 of Fig. 1.

JOHN LAYTON GUERRANT, OF SEDALIA, MISSOURI.

FREIGHT-CAB. DOOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 26, 1918.

Application filed Apri125, 1916. Serial'liTo. 93,459.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JOHN L. GUERRANT, a citizen of the United States, residing at Sedalia, in the county of Pettis and State'of Missouri, have invented a new and useful Freight-Car Door, of which the following 1s a specification. V j

The present invention appertains to grain car doors, and aims to provide a novel and improved door structure adapted especially for grain cars, although useful upon other freight cars and elsewhere as well.

Generally considered, the invention embodies in connection with the door frame of a car body, or the like, inner and outer doors which when closed provide a grain tight closure which will exclude the elements, which will withstand the pressure and jars incident to the j olting or wedging action of the gram or merchandise thereagainst, and which cannot be opened by a person who has secreted himself in the car for purpose of throwing out merchandise while the same is in transit.

It is the object of the invention to provide a closure of the nature indicatedfwhich will be an all around protector of merchandlse, preventing the injury thereof by dust, d irt, rain, sleet, and the like, and also providmg a perfect barrier against theft.

Another object of the invention is the provision of novel means for mounting the inner door whereby it can be moved outwardly upon the outer side of the doorframe, so that it can be moved to one side of the door way.

The invention also includes novel means for fastening the inner door in closed position, whereby it will be snugly andfirmly held in place.

Withthe foregoing and other ob ects in view which will appear as the. description proceeds, the invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafter described and claimed, it being understood that changes in the precise embodiment of the invention herein disclosed can be made within the scope of what is claimed without departing from the spirit of the lnvention.

.The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein 5 p Figure 1 is an outside view of the door structure showing the outer door moved to one side to expose the inner door.

Fig. 2 is a horizontal section taken on the within the door way tached to the member Fig. 3 is a vertical section taken on the line 33 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional detail showing the means for hanging the two doors, the doors being in closed position.

Fig. 5 is a View similar to Fig. a showing the outer door moved out of the way and the inner door moved outwardly in order that it can be moved away from the door way.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged sectional. detail taken on the line 6-6 of Fig. 2.

The door frame jambs 2 and a lintel 3, and an outer storm door 4 is movable slidably along the exterior of the car body, as usual, in order that it can be readily moved across and away from the door way or opening. This outer door l is hung from a longitudinal horizontal track- 5, constituting a housing, having the spaced trough-portions 6 in which rollers 7 are mounted for rotation and which support the T-head 8 of a hanger 9 which extends downwardly between the portions 6 and which has its lower edge secured in any suitable manner to the upper edge of the door 4. The T-head 8 can travel easily upon therollers 8 to permit the door 41 to be moved easily toward or away from the door way. The track 5 extends over the door way and away from the same toward one side thereof.

In conjunction with the outer door 4:, there is used an inner door 10, preferably constructed of sheet metal, although it can be constructed of wood or other suitable material, and this door 10 is of a size to fit snugly or within the door frame. Attached to the outer surface of the door 10 are transverse or horizontal reinforcing members 11, and attached to the ed es of the door 10 are vertical reinforcing members 12 of channel iron or other suitable stock.

In order to mount this door 10 for movement into and out of the door frame, and for longitudinal sliding movement upon the exterior of the car body, a horizontal member 13 of angle iron or other suitable stock is attached to the outer surface of the door 10 adjacent its upper end, and outstanding slotted bars or other members 14 are at- 13 and, door 10 and project outwardly from the upper end of the door. Said slotted members lt are slidable upon pins or rollers 15 carried by the forked or bifurcated hangers 16 which are provided at their upper ends with T- includes a sill 1, posts or heads 17,

withv a disc I ner.

in closed position or supplemental track 18, similar to the track 5, is used for supporting the innerdoor 10, and extends over the doorway immediately below the track 5, and said track 18 projects longitudinall away from the doorway to that side opposite to ward which the track 5 projects. This track 18 embodies the trouglrshaped portions 19 within which are mounted for rotation rollers 20 upon which the T-heads 17 of the hangers 16 seat, or said hangers 16 can' be provided wi ha common T-head '17, so long as said hangers canmove freelyalong the track with the door 10. The slotted members 1% in slidably engaging the hangers 16 permit-the door 10 to be moved outwardly to open it, and to be moved inwardly into the door frame when said door 10 is closed.

' The inner door 10 is provided adj acent its upper end with an opening 21 to enable the car to be readily filled with grain, by means of a chute, or the like. This opening 21 is closed by an auxiliary door or gate 22 which .is preferably hingech as at 23, at its upper edge to the main door 10. This auxiliary door 22 can be hinged to swing. either inward or outward,- and can be held in closed position in any suitable manner. The door 10 is alSO orovided adjacent its lower end arge opening 24: to permit the grainor other material to be discharged conveniently, whereby to start the emptying-of the car in a convenient and desirable man- This opening '24: is normally closed, that is, when the car is filled,.by means of an auxiliary-door or gate 25 which is preferably hinged, as at 26, at its upper edge to the door 10, whereby the door 25 can be swung outwardly.

by means of any suitable latches or catches 27. The door 10 is provided upon. its outer sidewith suitable handles or hand holds 28 whereby said door Y can be. moved or pulled outwardly conveniently. V p j -The outer door f is offset inwardly rela-. tive to its hanger 9 so as to be disposed under the track 18, and to be disposed closely adjacent to the frame.

jambs 2at the inner sides thereof, vertical clamping plates \or leavesg29-are mounted within vertical recesses 30' with which the adjacent sides of thejambs 2are provided,

and are secured upon vertical 'rockshafts or spindles 31 disposed within said recesses and mounted for rotation within the jambs there being any suitable number the side-to This door 25can be held 4 or the car body --2 above and below said recesses. The lower ends of the shafts 31 project through the sill 1, and have attached thereto handles or levers 32,; by means of which the plates 29 can be readily swung into and out of the recesses 30. When the plates 29' are retired within the recesses 30, the door 10 canbe 'readilymoved outwardly or inwardly, and when the door 10 is moved inwardly against the stops2 the jplates 29 can be swung inwardly to clamp the edges ofthe door against said stops, thereby to. hold the inner 'dobr firmly'in place'l a meansfor hold'ng swung into position 'to clamp the door 10 against the stops 2?,rack bars '33fare slidable in'slots 84 with which thefjambs 2 are provided, and are recesses SOhdjacnt the outer sides of the plates 29, to hold said plates against the door 10, as'seen in operated by pinions'35 secured upon shafts or spindles 36 j Handles or levers 37 are secured upon the outer en'ds'of the shafts36 for rotatin'g them. When' the door 4 is moved out o'fithe way,

the handles 3:? can or retracting tlie bars;'33,but.when the door a is closed, s'aid l andles concealed thereby, to preventcthe inner door being released while the outer dooiffis-closed.

'10 in'closed position-I f A lontudinalguide 39 is carried 7 upon theexterior oft-he car body by brackthe plates 29 when I projectiblefthrough the ournaledinthe jambs 2 and V ,7 projecting from the outer sides thereof;

bef rea dily rotated for rotating the p nions 3 5 for eitherpi'ojecting r ets 40 and exteiids'pa'st the doorway adja;

prevents the. door's'fl fromfbeing swung outwardly away fromthe sidewall and assists in guidinglsaid ,cent the lower end thereof. This strip 39 doors for longitudinal movement 'jZOWard and away fror'nthe doorway; j v r WVhen the door 10 closed, it fitswithinthe door frame against the stops'2ft, and is held 'firmly. in place by the plates 1 29 which, are

in we; held j which have been projected, by "the rotation of th'epinionsi35i, Now, whe ifthedoor 4 is slid to closed position across. the -door way, it covers'the handles37, and prevents the inner doorfrombeing loosened, :The H inner door 10 provides a graiiitightclosure, WVlllOh will also exclude theelemeiitsg and which will successfully resist, the 1 pressure and jolts due. to othe jostling or wedging side, since the outer doo in place the rackbars V a on ii eia mha sete w s r prevents-them ward movement of the inner door, and

even though the inner door is loosened, it is.

impossible for a person within the car to get at the outer door to dislodge it.

To open the doors, the outer door 4:, after the seal is broken, is moved longitudinally away from the door way to one side thereof, and the means which hold the inner door 10 are then released, permitting said inner door to move outwardly under the pressure of the contents of the car, and if the car is filled with grain, before the door 10 is released, the auxiliary door can be opened to permit the discharge of grain in a convenient manner, whereby to start the emptying of the car. When the door 10 is released, it can be moved outwardly out of the door frame to the outer side thereof, as seen in Fig. 5, and said inner door 10 can then be moved longitudinally away from the door way in a direction opposite to that in which the door 4 is moved to open position, whereby one door will be at one side of the door way and the other door at the opposite side. As above indicated, the guide strip 39 prevents the lower ends of the doors from swinging away from the car body. To close the door way, the doors 10 and 4 are moved to position in succession, as will be obvious from the foregoing.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

In a door structure, the door frame having outwardly facing stops, a pair of tracks extending over the upper end of the doorway adjacent to one another at the outer side of the door frame and extending to opposite sides of said doorway, one track being disposed slightly below and spaced inwardly from the other track, a hanger slidable along the second mentioned track and depending outside of the first mentioned track, an outer door hung from said hanger and offset inwardly under the first mentioned track to move along the outer surface of said frame, a hanger slidable along the first mentioned track above said door, an inner door movable into the door frame against said stops, means for holding the inner door against said stops, the inner door having outstanding members at its upper end slidably engaging the second mentioned hanger, the first mentioned door being immediately below the first mentioned track and second mentioned hanger when in closed position, and said outstanding mem bers being disposed between the first mentioned door and first mentioned track when the doors are in closed position.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

JOHN LAYTON GUERRANT.

itnessesz HAZEL EASTON, OPAL M. SoHoELL.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G. 

